Life moves in cycles. That is no less true for the life cycle of businesses and governments. Some years are great, some are not so good.

Right now, the economic cycle is decidedly on a downward turn across the nation. That is no less true here in the Braselton-Hoschton area.

Three years ago, the area was in the middle of one of the largest growth and economic expansions in the nation’s history. The “housing bubble” didn’t happen everywhere, but it did happen here. Land prices spiraled upward; contractors and builders were busy with both residential and commercial projects; new residents were moving in as fast as they could; local governments were under tremendous pressure to accommodate all the activity and were in an expansive and expanding mode.

When the bubble burst late last year, all that activity began to slow. After September’s Stock Market gyrations, the boom was clearly headed for a bust.

It hasn’t all shaken out yet. Foreclosures continue to grow and the tightening of consumer spending has slapped retail establishments. Unemployment in the area may reach double-digits.

Local governments have not been immune from that pain, either. Revenues are slowing and could slow more by mid-year. The difference in the boom-to-bust cycle has been dramatic.

There’s a long road ahead. The turnaround will come, but it won’t be soon and it probably won’t reach the previous level of activity for many, many years.

Now is the time for local governments to take a critical look at all the assumptions made during the boom cycle, assumptions that may now be outdated.

Plan for the future, but realize that the future may be very different than the past.